Elevate achieves pair of milestones

RISE, a state-licensed, unsecured online loan, has surpassed the 55,000 user milestone. It is designed for people with cash flow problems who struggle to obtain credit from traditional providers. Features include fast approval, declining rates over time on future loans, free credit score monitoring, and flexible loan terms.More than 20,000 RISE customers are now eligible to receive a minimum 50 per cent reduction in their APR, which comes after 24 months of payments. That rate can further drop to 36 per cent. Less than four years after launch, more than 20,000 people either have realized or are eligible for the 50 per cent reduction, with 4,000 eligible for the 36 per cent APR.

“Progression through rates that can go down over time, reporting customers’ behavior to a major credit bureau, and providing access to financial literacy tools are all key to helping them make real tangible progress to their long-term financial health.”

More than 2,500 of its customers are now consider prime, with credit scores higher than 700.

“We know from serving this segment for many years that nonprime consumers want to make financial progress, not just borrow money, when they take out a loan,” Mr. Rees added. “While we realize that our own practice of reporting to a prime credit agency is almost certainly not the only factor in our customers’ improving credit health, we are proud of these customers’ accomplishments.”

“Credit is singularly important to these consumers – many of whom are in their financial situations through no real fault of their own,” Jonathan Walker said. Mr. Walker is the executive director of Elevate’s Center for the New Middle Class.

A two-time LendIt Journalist of the Year nominee and winner in 2018, Tony has written more than 2,000 original articles on the blockchain, peer-to-peer lending, crowdfunding and emerging technologies over the past seven years, making him one of the senior writers in the alt-fi sector.

"The evolution of the crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending scenes is absolutely fascinating to chronicle. It is a joy to be around people with such passion and vision."